1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention is generally directed to child safety seats, and more particularly to a harness retractor or tensioning device for a child safety seat harness system.
2. Description of Related Art
Child safety seats, or car seats, are well known for placement on a vehicle seat in order to safely position, secure, and restrain a child in the vehicle. Child safety seats are also well known to employ an on-board or dedicated harness system. A typical five-point harness system often employs a crotch strap, a pair of lap belts, and a pair of shoulder straps. The various straps and belts are connected to one another at a latch or buckle typically carried on the crotch strap. The length of the various straps and belts is adjustable in order to accommodate children of different size and to accommodate a growing child.
It is well known that parents do not always know how to correctly tension the harness system to properly and safely secure their child in a safety seat with the child restraint system of the seat. Car seats have been developed that attempt to simplify the tensioning of a harness or restraint system for the parent when securing their child in a car seat. Car seats have also been developed that attempt to make ingress and egress from the seat easier for the child and parent. Currently, most child restraint systems require the parent or caregiver to manually adjust a central harness strap at a central adjuster. Many parents have difficulty performing this manual harness tensioning operation correctly. It can be difficult on many car seats for the parent to seat or remove their child from the seat or for the child to seat or remove themselves. The size, location, and function of the various harness or restraint systems and components often hinder such ingress and egress.
Some manufacturers have tried to simplify these processes. However, invariably these products have resulted in significantly more complex restraint systems that even fewer parents can correctly use and operate. For instance, Romer has developed a “Click” harness, which makes an audible click when tensioned properly. However, it is difficult to hear, and still requires the parent to manually adjust the harness. The parent must also be aware of and pay attention for the click while trying to seat and secure their child.